Vivendi says still believes rebel shareholders could be breaking law

PARIS (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi, facing a rebellion from activist shareholders over its strategy, repeated on Thursday that it believed they could be breaking the law if they were to back U.S. hedge fund PSAM at its upcoming annual shareholder meeting.

However, in a statement, the company acknowledged that there could be other interpretations of the law concerning control of French TV by non-EU foreign shareholders. It also acknowledged that the issues involved had not been tested in court.

In a letter last week to PSAM, Vivendi threatened legal action, and said it could seek damages of between 5 and 9 billion euros ($5.4-9.8 billion). Thursday's statement did not refer to any legal action.

(This story has been refiled to correct day of week in first paragraph)